Adventures in Etegami

These three postcards were created during the Main Line Art Center etegami workshop.

 After learning about the Japanese art form known as etegami, I have created some samples of my own, which will be sent out into the world by our postal system shortly.

Recall that etegami is a form of mail art, so it is not considered "complete" until it has made its way to a recipient.

A mix of cards created during the workshop and back at home

I had initially resisted the idea of writing the words in ink with a brush, since the English alphabet doesn't lend itself to those writing tools in the way the Japanese language does.  Once I got started though, I enjoyed the challenge of forming the letters with the brush.

These might be considered more traditional because their subjects come from the natural world.

You can see that I emulate the style of my teacher, Nancy Bea Miller, with thicker, bolder lines, whereas some etegami artists draw with a much thinner, more wavery line.

Man-made objects can also be a popular subject matter for etegami, and here you can see the sources of my pictures.

I have a lot to learn, and a lot of practice to do, but etegami is really quite relaxing, and it takes very little time to create a small piece of art to send to a mail art friend!

"Put a shell on it" is something of an inside joke with my mother.  This card is a natural to send to her!

Ironic that I misspelled Brene Brown's name on a sentiment about imperfection? I think so!

My always-messy art-making space is now covered in etegami-making art supplies.